Gallagher v. VisitDays Corp.
- Barbara Moses
- 1:22-cv-08553
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gallagher v. VisitDays Corp., Judge Furman scheduled a conference after questioning Defendants’ jurisdictional argument and Plaintiff’s employee-count allegations.
Jessica Gallagher and VisitDays Corp. and the other defendants in Gallagher’s claims under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
What happened
In Gallagher v. VisitDays Corp., VisitDays Corp. and the other defendants asked the court to dismiss Jessica Gallagher’s claims under federal employment laws, arguing that VisitDays did not have enough employees to be covered. They relied on an employee head count outside the complaint.
The court explained that the employee-count requirement for Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act is part of the claim—not a limit on the court’s power to hear the case. It also stated that the Equal Pay Act does not appear to have a numerical employee threshold. The court called the defendants’ jurisdictional argument plainly frivolous, but noted that the complaint’s allegation that VisitDays employed approximately 15 people in New York might still be insufficient under the standard for testing whether the complaint states a claim.
The court did not decide the motion to dismiss. Judge Furman ordered a telephone conference for December 8, 2022, to discuss these issues and whether Gallagher could or should amend her complaint.
The detailed version
- Gallagher v. VisitDays Corp. · No. 1:22-cv-08553
- Barbara Moses
- Dec. 7, 2022
Background
Defendants moved to dismiss Jessica Gallagher’s claims under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Their argument relied on evidence outside the complaint—an employee head count—and asserted that VisitDays Corp. did not have the required number of employees when Gallagher worked there.
Court’s analysis
The court explained that the employee-number requirement for Title VII is an element of the plaintiff’s claim for relief, rather than a jurisdictional requirement. The court stated that courts have applied the same rule to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. It further stated that the Equal Pay Act does not appear to contain a numerical employee threshold.
Accordingly, the court said that, to the extent the motion relied on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and outside evidence about the number of employees, the motion was “plainly frivolous.” The court separately noted that the complaint alleged only that VisitDays Corp. “employs approximately 15 people in New York.” It questioned whether that allegation was sufficient under Rule 12(b)(6), which tests whether a complaint adequately states a legal claim, and raised whether Gallagher could or should amend the complaint.
Order and current status
The court did not grant or deny the motion to dismiss in the opinion. Instead, it ordered a telephone conference for December 8, 2022, to address the employee-count and possible-amendment issues. The opinion therefore leaves the motion’s ultimate disposition unresolved.
Judge
The opinion identifies Jesse M. Furman as the United States District Judge and is dated December 7, 2022.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.